#zanpakutou rebellion

[aurora-313]

So the final arc for black and blue will be the zanpakuto rebellion? I can understand why you may go for it- among the filler arcs it does seem to be the most popular and well-liked (I LOVED all the zanpakuto designs myself) but I wonder why include it at all? Perhaps so that two certain zanpakutos that no realizes are zanpakutos will get a chance for a big reveal since tybw won't be happening?

(It's cool if you can't directly answer, spoilers and all that jazz.)

On the less spoilery side of things, will you be addressing the forms the zanpakuto take? Like with zabimaru, instead of the monkey with the snake tail we got chimpette and snakey. I always assumed that zanpakuto could assume more than one form or perhaps those two could symbolize the form of renji's true bankai (like we learned from kubo that yachiru as we know her is supposed to be kenpachi's bankai, kind of like tensa zangetsu- in shikai she's an adult woman). And I always thought that sogyo no kotowari and haineko had animal forms to go with their human forms.

On the humorous side of things, I always thought retroactively that it would've been hilarious if old man zangetsu got brought out and someone- unohana or sasakibe- saw him and were like, "Why is kurosaki's zanpakuto spirit that quincy asshole yamamoto killed a thousand years ago?!"

Because frankly, I wanted a relatively low-stake wind down from the world-ending threat that was Aizen. And I've got a cute image in my head of little Sogyo no Kotowari barging into Kaien's office, begging Kaien to play with them and complaining about how much they missed him.

Then Kaien siccing them on his Hollow instead. "Sorry guys, I'd love to but I have work to do, I don't have time today... **points to Hollow Kaien lounging about** he's free though." "Yay! White Kaien, play with us! Lets play kido tag together!" "W-Wait what?! Kaien I'll kill you!" "Have fun; bring them back before naptime~!"

That won't happen, that's just a scene I thought up of while doing a bleach re-watch in prep for TYBW anime's return and I realised it'd be a great way to re-charge from the world ending catastrophe. Muramasa aside, there weren't a lot of stakes. It was a fun distraction more than anything else; plus the opportunity for humorous Zanpakutou interactions.

Given who Kaien is, I easily imagine Nejibana relentless trolling the living daylights out of Rukia and Ichigo. Hell, I doubt even Kaien would be safe from her. He has siblings ya know, and Nejibana was there every step of the way in the living world - I wonder how Kukaku would react to the Jellyfish story in particular. ;)

I think Zanpakutou having one or two separate forms is highly dependent on the wielder. Just like the Zanpakutou spirit itself is shaped by the soul it belongs to. Hell, Hisagi mentioned that his Zanpakutou appeared to him in various different elemental forms in CFYOW before appearing as a shadow-clad humanoid to have that 'How to Bankai' talk.

Since this isn't spoilers, I'll confirm Nejibana has two. Her humanoid form and a sea wyvern.

Given how I intend to write BB, I don't think it'll be the old man brought out.... but, we'll jump off that bridge when we come to it.

It might turn out I don't do the Zanpakutou rebellion at all and just finish with the Lost Agent arc. Won't know for sure until I write it.

[recurring-polynya]

this is the most disrespectful use of the split-screen reaction shot i have ever seen. i would file a grievance with the vice-captains' union.

[bleachbleachbleach]

In our Bleach rewatch, we are about halfway through the Zanpakutou Rebellion arcs, and a few nights ago we hit my VERY FAVORITE SCENE IN THIS WHOLE ARC. (Other notables: Byakuya and Renji sparring, Hitsugaya putting his hand up for dragon-Hyourinmaru like he’s giving him an apple, the Kuchiki hanami/10th bonfire, and all the shots of the Wind Sock.) Like, I had been waiting for this every night like “Boy gee golly I hope we get to see that scene where Chirpy floats past Isane and Iba!!!! Will it be tonight!! Will we see it?!?!” AND THEN WE SAW IT and it was even more glorious than one could ever dream.

Ashisogi Jizou is hands-down my runaway first bestest top favorite zanpakutou manifestation. I’m generally very lukewarm on humanoid versions of anything that has a non-human form or several that it could otherwise be manifesting as, so for this arc this weird-ass chirpy butterfly baby is my favorite manifestation by default. But it goes so much further than that. You need to understand.

I LOVE this thing. It is a screaming, all-caps, heart a-flutter love. Never have I so hotly anticipated the appearance of a character on my screen as much as Chirpy. In my mind, no character has ever had a more celebration-worthy intro than Chirpy meandering its way through the background of the Zanpakutou Rebellion’s D-plot, encountering Sirs Who Are Not Appearing In This Film because we don’t know shit about Isane nor Iba’s zanpakutou. 

It’s just THERE. To conduct mayhem and be cute and off-putting in a haunted sort of way. And you have the bonus of Isane’s ICONIC OBSERVATION, 

“It’s very distinctive.”

Though tbh, the shinigami had a relatively hard time parsing out whose zanpakutou was whose, including their own. Except Isane. Isane knew everyone’s and I feel in my heart it’s because working at the 4th she has had much more direct and contained experience with most everyone’s reiatsu. And then you have this weird butterfly baby and whose tf else’s would it be.

Top 5 great features of Chirpy:

HE CHIRP. BEST SOUND GREAT SOUND

HE MILL. just wandering around, havoc seemingly both optional and inevitable

Zaraki grabs him by the face

accurately represents real-life moth feature, ‘squeeze me to see my eldritch blades’

could not begin to care about the arc lore. he is here to fuck around and find absolutely zero things out

I LOOOVEEEEEE HIMMMMMMMM

[grimmichi-ao3-feed]

[New AO3 Fic!] Fade to White

by keatsblue

Subject brought in over early morning hours, approx. 0500. Refuses food. Refuses speech, except one word, uttered repetitively - “Zangetsu.” Does not flinch or react to pain, heat sensation, or cold sensation. Curiously, the scabbard on the hip is heated to the touch, and the blade cannot be drawn.

Will continue to investigate the subject’s apparent catatonia through the night. Leader has made it clear; White and his nefarious plans must be halted, no matter the personal cost.

Words: 3062, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Bleach (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Nelliel Tu Oderschvank, Ulquiorra Cifer, Szayel Aporro Granz

Relationships: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques/Kurosaki Ichigo

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Canon-Typical Violence, Secret Identity, Secret Organizations, Futuristic, Post-Rebellion Story, creative liberties with zanpakutou, lovers to enemies to lovers?

Read it now on AO3!

[crehador]

looks like someone skipped the zanpakutou rebellion filler arc

[akaluan]

Masterpost by Month: April 2021

Dragon Eclipse:

Kaito in the Zanpakutou Rebellion

Lost Eclipse:

Part 17

A Token, My Liege?:

Part 14

Beneath the cherry trees:

Part 3

Bare Your Fangs:

Part 21

[undead-bones]

Twelve Kingdoms

Naruto

Inuyasha/Yashahime

Saint Seiya

Sailor Moon

Pandora Hearts

Sakura Card Captor

Yu Yu Hakusho

Magi

Ancient Magus's Bride

Akatsuki no Yona

Fate/Stay Night

Vanitas no Karte

KHR

Spirited Away

Princess Mononoke

Final Fantasy

Seven Deadly Sins

Yu-Gi-Oh

Rurouni Kenshin

Heaven Official Blessing

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Utawarerumono

Bleach's Diamond Dust and Zanpakutou Rebellions

Toaru Majutsu no Index

Homestuck

Steven Universe

Twisted Wonderland

Genshin Impact

Avatar

Gravity Falls

Owl House

Moana

Frozen

Book of Life

Kubo and the Strings

Coraline

Trollhunters

Danny Phantom

Samurai Jack

Master Raindrop

Ninjago

Black Cauldron

Atlantis: Lost Empire

Voltron

Young Justice

Throne of Atlantis

Fire Emblem

Barbie (she's awesome, me being a adult now won't stop me from loving her)

Any Marvel's Asgard Story

Batfamily

Splintered Trilogy

Holly Black

Girls of Snow and Glass

The Princess Plot - the Scandia Series by Kirsten Boie (I really liked its Hidden Child Trope)

Caught by the Villain

The Wheel of Time

Silmarillion

Dark Materials

Inkheart

Hobbit

The Witcher

Warrior Cats

Asoiaf/Hotd

Vikings

Maleficent

Ouat

Albion

Labyrinth of the Faun/Pan's Labyrinth

Labyrinth

Hunstman's Winter War

Neverending Story

[aurora-313]

you got any directors commentary on bnb?

(also ⭐)

"Director's Commentary":

Fun fact: BB was supposed to be finished 5 chapters ago. I only wanted to have about 30 chapters from Kaien's introduction with Ichigo to ending the Aizen threat. But uh, its kind of spiraled out of control... obviously. That's the joy of these types of muses. Problem is, it leaves me in tricky spots.

A major example being chapter 36 in progress: Ichigo's determining what to do with the fact he's secretly a Quincy. I think its quite obvious a massive blow-up is coming soon.

In general I admit that some plot lines have been dragging. I'm going to accelerate their progress and skip the minor details. Bright side: we'll get to see Ichigo's new (BB) sword at the end of this next chapter but I'll reserve its abilities for later.

⭐ - select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!

Honestly, I kinda of wanna talk about how the Zanpakutou rebellion arc will go in BB's post-Aizen victory. Kaien's back as a Lieutenant and he feels like he's corralling a bunch of cats at the 13th. Rukia's running around as his courier between divisions.

Ichigo shows up trying to figure out what the hell's going on with the zanpakutou. They just sorted out their Aizen problem, do they really need this happening right now? Ichigo asks what he can do to help, and something like this exchange happens:

"Help Rukia out. Beyond that, I need you to simply do what you do best." Kaien tells him, nose buried in casualty reports. "Run around, scream loudly and be a general pain in the proverbial to anyone who crosses my path?" Ichigo suggests sarcastically. Kaien shrugs, "I meant break shit, but sure, that works."

[recurring-polynya]

🌞🌺 Good Morning!🌻🌈

Did you know that Squad 4 has a huge room full of sleeping berths for handling mass casualty situations??

[keikakudori]

                 TROUBLE WAS A FINE WAY TO PUT IT for the look that Gin had received had been sharp to say the very least. A wickedly fast Shunpo had seen whirls of dust being kicked up in his wake and the older captain had simply smiled in the wake of that departure, ignoring the little thundercrack of air displaced rushing in to fill the void of where the silver had perched. Part of Aizen wondered if Gin had done that just to ensure he'd find himself hunted down.

                 It would not have been the first time that Aizen had played hunter whilst Gin remained prey, this being a game of theirs that had gone back several years by now. Of course, it had not come up in recent memory so this was a situation which didn't bother him as much as it could have. Yes, there was much to be said about their play of hunting. Even as he began his pursuit, Aizen felt the flicker of the Kido he'd created long ago, a Kido that had come through its name via inspiration, and he fought down a snarl that would've been at odds with his usual affable demeanor.

                 But he knew the hunt was in full swing when his usual thread of awareness that was tied to Gin seemed to suddenly dwindle down into nothingness, a smokescreen of elusiveness that was akin to touching his fingers to a pane of glass. He thought he could sense that power out there, but it was not amongst a crowd of people. A wise move, probably, on Gin's behalf. No, a crowd would not have been a fit place to hide, not from a predator of Aizen's caliber. He would hunt him down even there and his veils could obscure everything that could and would ensue.

                 Nevermind that those veils had indeed been used to obscure them before when they were around others.

                 Aizen had a few degrees of appetite that went in some very specific directions, and Gin could indeed share those moments, he being left to witness the things that Aizen so indulged in. But no matter how things played out, he would wait to attend once the fiery nature of their passions had ceased to spill over. It was simply his nature.

                 Yet he was certain that Gin was eluding him. Purposefully. A dark gleam filled those depths of brown and still the captain paid little heed to those that scurried out of his path; it was not often that the normally gentle man could look so stern, as they perceived it. They dared not see beneath the mask. They did not see the fangs beset within a red maw of hunger, could not perceive the claws that flexed in readiness to rake across skin.

                 Several minutes of fruitlessly questing about with his senses - and even using Shunpo to land at the last place he'd sensed Gin - left frustration a billowing thing within his thoughts and carried through to tension within his jaw. That was a fine way to get a headache going and so he turned aside and cut down a sidestreet. A whisper of power drew the veil down to make it seem as if he were continuing down it and vanishing into a tea house down this lane, even as he sidestepped to a particular building and slipped inside without anyone being the wiser for it.

                 He could cloak himself easily and had found ways and reasons to show off his zanpakutou without bragging. Demonstrations, lessons at the Academy, ceremonies -- every opportunity to cast that net wider and wider. A good thing that it fooled even Kurotsuchi's surveillance bacteria, honestly; that pleased him for reasons all his own.

                 But it was a quick trip down the stairs hidden behind a partition installed so cunningly by his own hands one night long ago and down into one of the small stations that were scattered around the Seireitei. Even when the day came to shed the role of captain and embrace the rebellion that he would cause, the Onmitsukido would never find all of them. He knew that for a cool, certain fact. There were too many and perhaps they might find one or two of the more obviously discoverable ones -- but never all of them.

                 His thoughts, however, were not on the eventual revelation that was still decades away. It was on one person. Aizen stalked over to the control panel and flicked his hand across the console, fingers tapping away without his having to look down at them. Screens bloomed to life and his own surveillance system was brought to life.

                 No one looked twice at insects, after all. His looked like insects, tiny mobile things that would relay back everything they saw. His fingers flew again over the keyboard, writing in a command, then executing it. Images began to flash by on the screen at a speed that many would not have been able to keep up with. HIs eyes tracked across them, narrowed in thought as the lenses of his glasses reflected the glow of the monitor and---... there.

                 Up went one eyebrow and then he was flicking the power off.

                 The veil of his power had been moving about without his conscious thought, making it seem as if he were ranging back and forth, and he was still concealed as he exited the small shop, just as his 'double' stepped out of the tea house and off he went as his other 'self' seemed to merge into him along the street. Another shifting of his power, approaching the Fifth; a distraction. A lure. Nothing more than a flash of bright feathers in the sunlight.

                 Good.

                 So he shifted and then blurred into another Shunpo, so swift that it was doubtful that anyone that didn't rank on the level of lieutenant would see him, as he bore down on his prey. A moment to stop atop a building, peering downwards as he cloaked himself entirely. A surge of his veil, that sense of his power pacing off towards the Eighth ---

                 His prey was close. He hadn't seen precisely where Gin had concealed himself but he was close.

                 Then his lips curled and he whispered once into the air, letting his power carry to those ears wherever he was.

                 ❝ Gin. ❞

                 Time to see if he could flush the fox out of the bushes.

GIN KNEW THE MOMENT HE LOCKED EYES WITH AIZEN THAT HE WAS IN TROUBLE, so much so that the mere exchange of their gazes had Gin blurring into one of his fastest Shunpo yet -- one that carried him far beyond the Third Division and out towards the edge of the Seireitei. He knew Aizen was on the hunt immediately, the way that aura never fully faded was also an indicator that Aizen wanted Gin to know he was nearing, prowling forth -- but it also wasn't lost on him that the signature of Aizen's reiatsu could possibly be a misdirect all on its own, the true force of nature cloaked and hidden.

So Gin cloaked his own reiatsu, simmering it down into nothingness -- obscuring himself and ceasing the ability to be tracked all whilst he blipped off elsewhere via a swift Sentan Hakuja. He was automatically distrustful of what he sensed of Aizen's movements... and it wasn't exactly like Gin could find safety in the masses. If he threw himself into a public space in hopes of deterring Aizen's wrath -- that'd be a massive rookie mistake. Kyoka Suigetsu would veil everything, and it'd not matter if Gin was standing in the midst of Yamamoto himself... -- no one would realize anything. A truly terrifying ability; to isolate someone even as they stood in the most crowded of spaces. Gin could scream all he wanted and no one would hear a sound.

Thus, Gin hid himself. He didn't intend to stay in one place for too terribly long, but he knew not to get ahead of himself and jump around to different locations too abruptly. So he paused, first, and waited a few minutes before he moved again.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten -- and Gin was on the move again, making sure to stay out of sight of the passerby as he zipped through one of the busier roads with several shops lined up along its length, lunch-time bringing a good amount of people out and about. Maybe some of the stronger Shinigami could catch the slightest blurring of a white haori before it vanished in a billow and breeze.

To catch a breather (he wasn't out of breath, no, but he didn't want to move too erratically or too often, he'd run the risk of being caught sooner rather than later) ... Gin pressed into the shadows of an alleyway and leaned his back against the cool stone, waiting to assess his next best move and which direction to go based on the untrustworthy sensation of Aizen lurking, hunting him.

When Aizen got into this type of mood... Gin knew better than to try and talk his way out.

[bleachbleachbleach]

At work, everyone has the same laptop and therefore the same charger. I put a name label on mine just in case it ever needs to be identified, but sometimes I forget that I also put a label on it that says “Gonryoumaru” and I think that’s very Sasakibe of me

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

I want a Arc about Kyoka Suigetsu or at least the parts about him in the Zanpakutou Rebellion. I see a bit of Nooroo vibes on the guy, maybe a Kitsune instead? The Butterfly can be from the Hougyoku, make them friends or rivals.

Also, the Sokyoku, I imagine a bird-like armor with helmet and all. Given they don't have a wielder, they are probally an agorophobic lobster.

Nozarashi too! I want to see everyone reaction to Zaraki's zanpakutou! Bonding with Yoruichi's one over their shinigami ignoring them.

[chanceofarin]

i’ve sensed a pattern

[kaicko]

[akaluan]

Are the others already starting to suspect Kaito is somehow Ishida? It still seems like a bit of a logical leap at this point, but of course we haven't seen as much of the other characters' POV as Kaito's; can you tell us some of the things they're seeing that've begun to tip them off? Is it little things, or is something in his guise slipping?

They’re not, honestly. It /is/ a huge leap in logic, and it’s not one that immediately comes to mind when faced with the facts as portrayed.

What they ARE starting to suspect is that Kaito isn’t being entirely honest about a lot of things. Uryuu is especially suspicious, because he’s watching Kaito closely (a thing that started out of self-preservation, based on their initial interaction) and he’s seeing lots of familiar patterns in Kaito’s actions? And he really doesn’t like the thought of that for several reasons; first because it’s humanizing a being that he initially wants to fear/distrust/hate (due to that first meeting and also because of being a Shinigami in all but name), second because it means Kaito had similar experiences, and third because he’s seeing Kaito turning towards Urahara a lot and that makes Uryuu kinda lowkey hate Kaito sometimes? Because Kaito has something that Uryuu’s never had.

Kaito’s guise isn’t slipping; if anything it’s solidifying as Kaito starts to internalize more and more of the habits of those close to him, especially Urahara. Combine that with his moments of cheerfulness and laughter and the way he /appears/ to be pretty open, and he contrasts pretty drastically with Uryuu.

But then you have moments where they act the same. I don’t make a big deal about it, especially since DE is written from Kaito’s POV, but Kaito does slip at times. Because of the way Kaito is weaving his /actual/ history into his backstory as Kaito, some of the worst of it can be brushed off as similar upbringing or experiences, but there are other things, like Kaito and Uryuu’s reactions to praise, or thanks, that stand out. Not so much that they would react in a specific way? (Because that can be chalked up to similar experiences of an upbringing lacking such things) But because they /make the same motions in response/. If you put them next to each other and made them both react, it would be like looking at a copy, though Kaito’s motions are starting to lose the sharpness of Uryuu’s due to exposure to the Shoten’s residents.

Also, I know I mentioned it almost exactly once and then never brought it up again (sloppy writing on my part), but I REALLY cannot overstress the fact that KAITO ISN’T WEARING GLASSES. And, in fact, the character of “Kaito” would have NEVER NEEDED THEM. And yet Kaito has the automatic “adjust glasses” response that /all/ glasses-wearers develop. That’s an awkward tell that Uryuu’s noticed and picked up on, but no one else has because no one else wears glasses amongst the Karakura crew. Uryuu’s not sure what to make of it right now, but he’s suspicious of it. On the other hand, Kaito actually hasn’t spoken about his vision at all? So Uryuu’s suspicions are partially allayed with the idea that Kaito ONCE HAD glasses, and Urahara has introduced him to contacts since coming to the Living World. It’s a pretty easily disproven theory, but at this point in the story Uryuu hasn’t had the close-friendship-invading-private-spaces sort of relationship with Kaito that would reveal a lack of backup glasses laying around.

All in all, none of them have anything solid for their suspicions, beyond “Kaito sometimes acts weirdly akin to Ishida”. And of course Uryuu has the glasses thing.

[littleeyesofpallas]

BBS went and ambushed me with this one... I didn't even know there was a 6th SAFWY set coming. But since I did most of the other Beyond Bankai([Yamamoto, Ukitake, Kyoraku][Urahara & Hirako][Unohana & Zaraki]) already. So, I guess I'm back on my Bleach bullshit today...

A curious fusion of elements of Sui-Feng's actual bankai, and the not especially canon anime filler design of Suzumebachi. The little headpieces seem silly, I'd have rather she worn the shoulder shield(that little extra bit on the one pauldron that helps shield the face... you see them in jousting, on the lance arm. what do you call those?) like a mask rather than, what, just hair clips?? The fur feels silly too. I do love her little drippy poison energy wings based on her shikai's target pattern tho.

I know I brought up her shikai because of her name's hornet theme(geez, that's an old post for this blog...), but I guess I've never actually mentioned her bankai before?

Jakuhou Raikouben[雀蜂雷公鞭] is a bit of a weird one, even by general Bleach standards.

Jyaku[雀蜂]: is just the same "Sparrow+Hornet" that makes up Suzumebachi. It's the name of the real world species of "Giant Asian Hornet," Vespa mandarinia, aka "Yak-killer Hornet."

Raikou[雷公]: means "Government Official+Thunder" generally translated as "Duke/Lord (of) Thunder," and specifically refers to the mythical Leigong, Chinese thunder deity. (Oddly out of place for Bleach, he's not actually a Buddhist deity, even retroactively; he has no adopted role in Chinese Buddhist cosmology. He's pretty distinctly Daoist and traces back to pre-Buddhist and regional Chinese folk religion.)

Ben'[鞭]: "whip" I feel like this was kind of mistranslated. It does mean "whip" as in a lash or a crop, but it also refers to things like a "cane" or "rod" or "baton," which he stinger missile sort of resembles. It's not about describing or identifying the shape of the tool, it's about its use to strike someone with —implicitly as a kind of punishment or enforcement or drive to labor. (And I don't know that a heavy metal rod would really fit this part, but if you've ever heard someone get caned, it has a very sharp sound, similar to a whip crack or a crop lashing, which is where I assume the association with "thunder" comes in.)

Anyway her new attack is Suiran Jyakusetsu[遂乱螫殺]

Sui[遂]: "Final/End", "End of Life/Death"

Ran[乱]: "Revolt/Rebellion/War"

Jyaku[螫]: "BeeSting"

Setsu[殺]: "Killing/Put to Death", "Butcher/Slaughter"

So something kind of like, "Rebellion Killing BeeSting Execution"? I assume the first half describes the "End of Rebellion" and not "Rebellion of The End"/"Final Revolt." Sui-Feng doesn't strike me as a rebellious type. The Last half though is pretty cut and dry, "Put to Death (by) BeeSting."

I like that they made a homonym out of Jyaku[雀蜂] and Jyaku[螫] in order to keep the name's linked end to end like dominos, since the kanji are all different. Because I don't think that's normally how the word for "bee sting" would be pronounced.

Also the implication between bankai's name, her role as head of what are basically privatized secret police, and now this new form is that she's basically a riot cop. A corrections officer, armed with a baton, putting down rebellions. As ever Soul Society's implicit world building is... not great... Really shame we danced around that fact so often in the manga yet never got any actual direct addressing of the issue.

For one, love the throwback to the Shihouin royal family procession from Sui-Feng's flashback way back when. And it's not in the art itself but the attack animation also brings back the weird flying tool Ichigo used all of once, before everyone just started shunpou standing on the air for the rest of the series.

The actual attack name is fairly mundane though...

Tenshi no Mai[天賜の舞]

[天賜]: "Heavenly/Imperial Gift(s)"

[の舞]: "Dance of"

Nothing weird or clever about it.

As much as I do wish we'd gotten some kind of hint about her zanpakutou, I do kinda like the idea of her just whipping out a whole treasure trove of weird family heirloom weapons and tools.

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